Thursday, July 20, 2006

The town of West Union, West Virginia, turns 125 today, and on Saturday will celebrate by compiling the "largest genealogy chart ever attempted."

Several family trees have been compiled by local genealogical societies. We are in an area that has not been easily accessed in the past (part of Appalachia) and most of these family trees intersect at several points. We intend to generate an entry for each person in these trees, and place it in place on a wall of plywood. As fairgoers pass the tree, they will be encouraged to fill out their own card and it will be pinned in place on the tree.

We feel we can increase the database of individuals on these lines by 35%. The record may be based on the size of the chart as well as the number of individuals listed. Most genealogists do not do large charts (while they may have a large database of individuals, large charts are not printable or copyable and must be hand done.) We have enough with current information to fill three pieces of plywood at present time and expect that another four will be filled by the end of the festival. [Link]